Modelling Process
Base Mesh
Originally, I wanted to try and create my own mesh with accurate scaling. To do this, I used Maya and set up the grid so it was 1000 in length, grid lines every 10 units and the subdivisions to 1. I used a cube and scaled it up to be the size I wanted it. After that, I then imported my character reference and sized it up to match the cube.
I then turned on symmetry and started modelling the base mesh. I started at the torso and extruded it to make the neck and pelvis. I then used a sphere for the head. To make the arms and legs, I used a cylinder and extruded it. This allowed me to shape where the elbows and knees would be. I used a cube and changed the divisions so I could easily extrude it out for the fingers. I also used a cube to extrude out the boots. I exported my file as an fbx to transfer it to ZBrush.
Sculpting
I quickly realised that using the base mesh I created, would require a lot of time to sculpt out the chest and details. I didn't have a lot of time to do this, so I made the decision to use the base model in ZBrush instead. I started by smoothing out some of the muscles to make them smaller. I then masked everything but the neck. This is because the character I made is stylized and I wanted to replicate the style I used as best as I could. This involved using the transpose tools to make the neck thinner.
I then focused on changing the facial features. I masked the face and smoothed out the eyes and mouth. I then made the eye holes bigger and added 2 more for the second pair of eyes. I smoothed out the nose a bit to change it's form to suit my reference more.
I then masked the ears and smoothed them out. My character has more pointed ears so the normal human ones wouldn't match. I then used a sphere and the move tool to create more pointed ears. I used clay build up and pressed alt to create the inner bit of the ear. The pinch brush helped me to shape the ends of the ear. Once I finished with 1 ear, I mirrored it.
I tried to dynamesh the ears and head to attach them which resulted in the image below. I realised that I hadn't merge the ear subtool with the body and that I needed to change the resolution for the dynamesh. Once I did this, everything looked as intended.
After this I started blocking in more features. I added spheres into the eye sockets and modelled the hair. I struggled with the hair last time so I did a bit of research to help figure out the approach I wanted to take. I found a tutorial that used a sphere to sculpt the hair line and used curve tubes to sculpt the individual strands (Вероника Неклюева, 2024). They also used the clay buildup and dam standard brush to help shape it. I tried to do this method and created this hairstyle. It's a little blocky but overall I'm quite happy with it. It's a lot better than my previous attempt at hair! I used Zremesher to fix the ends of the strands as they had some holes in. I then started to create the clothes using the mask and extract tool. I made the skirt by extracting the top of it. I then used the masking, symmetry and the move brush to shape the back of it. I turned off symmetry to shape the front part
I used a the same method I used for the skirt to make the cloak.
To model the tail, I used the curve tool brush to create the long part. I then used a cylinder and reshaped it using the transpose tools. I then used the move and smooth tool to create the flame shape.
I also used the curve tool brush to create the horns. I created the rough shape and used the pinch brush to make the tip more pointy. I then focused on shaping the details in the face. I merged the eye subtool with the head and dynameshed them to join them together. I then used the clay build up tool to create the mouth and eyelids.
To start making the mask on his belt, I masked the face and used the extract tool.
I then masked the nose and use the move tool to create a beak shape. After that I smoothed it and ZRemeshed it to get rid of some holes at the bottom of the mask.
To make the gloves and boots, I used the same method as the clothes. When using the extract tool, I encountered an issue where parts of the fingers and toes would be poking out.
To fix this, I reduced the surface smoothness in the extract options and made them thicker. I then smoothed them and used Zremesher to make the topology better.
References
How to sculpt hair in ZBrush? | Tutorial, 2024. [Youtube]. Вероника Неклюева, 3 August. Available at: https://youtu.be/QvSnD_mreLU?si=eMRIhkmOvHPvAyaj [Accessed 5 May 2025].
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